News from the Chronicles - July 2015

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To Fight A Parasite

Very big news out of cellular biology and the Striepen lab in the fight against a parasite known as a major cause of suffering throughout the developing world: Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed new tools to study and genetically manipulate cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis. Their discoveries, published in the journal Nature, will ultimately help researchers in…

people with inflated bounce house
Weather-related accidents and conditions

Great demonstration at the geography building yesterday, and our colleague Jessica Luton shares the story: The UGA Geography building lawn looked more like a setup for a child’s birthday party or a carnival than a research project Thursday afternoon as students gathered around a red and yellow bounce house. The students, who are both undergraduate and graduate students studying atmospheric science, are taking a summer geography class meant to…

brumby residence dorm
Hunker Down with Housing

Yes, move-in day is only a few short weeks away, and our friends at University Housing are looking for volunteers to streamline the move-in process for students and their families. University Housing will welcome all new and returning students to Athens on Tuesday, August 11, and Wednesday, August 12, during Hunker Down with Housing. Volunteers from the community, students and all university staff are invited to help welcome approximately 8,000…

colorful infographic
Informatics Initiative

You can read about the Information Age on almost any page, on practically any day. More data has been created in the last fifteen years than in all previous human history. What does this mean for science? For research? For scholarship? Quite a byte(!), it turns out. Managing, storing and making this data accessible is a Herculean task that is growing by the day. It is arguably one of the greatest next-challenges of civilization, not to mention…

abstract painting
Britton reviewed in Art in America

The work of Lamar Dodd School of Art assistant professor of drawing and painting Benjamin Britton was reviewed in Art in America earlier this year: Like many other artists whose works “hover between abstraction and representation”—pick your cliché—Britton employs elements from both ends of that spectrum. At first, the paintings, all oil on canvas over panel, appear overwhelmingly abstract. Yet landscapes, maps, decorative objects, figures and…


Symposium Highlights Undergraduate Research

Later this month, a symposium will highlight the research of 10 undergraduate students from across the country who have been participating in a 10-week Research Experiences for Undergraduates program funded by the National Science Foundation. Boasting from programs as prestigious as MIT and University of California, Berkeley, the students will present their research in nanotechnology and biomedicine Friday, July 31 beginning at 8 a.m. at the…

UGA arch
D.O.E. grant to support low-income families

UGA recently announced a grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will help support first-generation and college students from low-income families. Beginning in September, UGA will receive funding distributed over the next five years under the Federal TRIO's Student Support Services Program: The Federal TRIO Programs are outreach and student services programs that provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds…

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Goodall-Bernal awarded Mellon Curatorial Fellowship

Art history major in the Lamar Dodd School of Art Nina Goodall-Bernal has been awarded a multi-year Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship, among only 20 given nationwide by the Andrew Mellon Foundation through 5 American museums: Goodall-Bernal participated in a High Museum Summer Academy this May and will spend two additional years working with High Museum curators to receive mentorship and training during the academic year and…

classroom with students
Narrative in the Classroom

Instructive article in the CHE that echoes the recent Reacting to the Past conference at UGA on pedagogy that connects students to history. Telling stories can help students learn, certainly: But research by cognitive psychologist Roger Schank suggests that the long-term effects of narrative-based learning are more limited than it sometimes seems. We learn by hearing stories from others — like from a professor, say — mostly when the…

man in lab with plants
When thieving weeds attack

An international group of scientists that includes assistant professor of genetics Dave Nelson has discovered how parasitic plants, which steal their nutrients from another living plant, evolved the ability to detect and attack their hosts. Their findings were  published recently in the journal Science: As plant roots grow, they release hormones called strigolactones into the soil. This is a signal that normally helps fungi form a…

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